Courtesy: CSU Bakersfield Athletic Communicationshttp://www.gorunners.com/The Roadrunner Scholarship Fund set a new high-mark for gifts in 2012-13.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Bakersfield Director of Athletics Jeff Konya has announced record-breaking fundraising totals for the Roadrunner Scholarship Fund thanks to unprecedented-community support in the 2012-13 fiscal year.

This past year the Roadrunner Scholarship Fund increased gifts from supporters by nearly 60-percent to $553,000; setting an all-time high for the organization that funds student-athlete scholarships within CSUB Athletics.

“I am excited that we set a new record and increased our Roadrunner Scholarship Fund by close to 60 percent, but the best part is we now have a system that can grow with the ultimate goal of funding all of our student-athlete scholarships,” said Ziggy Siegfried, Senior Associate AD for External Relations.

Siegfried also says he expects this to be the first of several record-breaking years to come and it wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of supporters or without the work of the Athletics Development team including associate athletics director Karen Langston and assistant athletics director Mark Mayes along with the Roadrunner Scholarship Board led by President Alan Wade.

“We are appreciative of the community for their support this past year,” Konya said. “It shows we are making progress as supporters are investing in providing for student-athletes; we still have a ways to go but this is the right direction to be heading.”

Along with the record-setting scholarship fund numbers, Bakersfield also received over $1 million in restricted and major gifts designated for specific sports, special projects and endowments within the department; a 300-percent increase from last year.

The gifts included funding for permanent grandstand seating at Hardt Field and the creation of the Kegley Center for Student Success, the first permanent home for the Athletics Academic Advising program. The facility is also utilized by the general student population for workshops, group advising meetings and other collaborative sessions.

“It was very rewarding to see these facility projects come to fruition this past year using four gifts of $100,000 or more from our supporters,” Siegfried said. “Their investment is the reason why we now have a dedicated space for athletics’ academic services and the seating at our baseball facility.”